Rest In Peace Tom Petty

Rock legend Tom Petty has passed away of the age 66, after going into full cardiac arrest Sunday night. After the tragic Vegas mass shooting and then reports of his death, yesterday was quite a depressing day. I wanted to hold up on posting something because there were a lot of reports he died, then didn’t and was clinging on to his life. Either way, the outlook didn’t look good and sadly, he has passed. If you visit TomPetty.com, you can read people’s tribute to Petty.

He was best known as the lead singer of Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, but was also a member and co-founder of the ’80s supergroup the Traveling Wilburys. I never knew how many Petty songs I knew until just a few years ago when he performed at the Super Bowl. I love songs “I Won’t Back Down,” “Refugee,” “American Girl,” “Learning to Fly,” “Don’t Do Me Like That,” and “Mary Jane’s Last Dance.” I believe I first knew about Tom Petty with his creepy Alice in Wonderland music video for “Don’t Come Around Here No More.” For the Traveling Wilburys, it’s a band I didn’t really listen when I was younger but heard my Dad listening to them all the time. I did get into them years later of course. Songs like “Handle with Care,” “End of the Line” and “Last Night” were the songs I enjoyed the most from them. Petty’s distinctive vocals and guitar playing with me missed!

Tom Petty, the dynamic and iconoclastic frontman who led the band the Heartbreakers, died Monday. He was 66. Petty’s death was confirmed by Tony Dimitriades, longtime manager of Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers, on behalf of the family.

“On behalf of the Tom Petty family, we are devastated to announce the untimely death of of our father, husband, brother, leader and friend Tom Petty. He suffered cardiac arrest at his home in Malibu in the early hours of this morning and was taken to UCLA Medical Center but could not be revived. He died peacefully at 8:40 p.m. PT surrounded by family, his bandmates and friends,” Dimitriades wrote.